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Do you or someone you know own a minority or women-owned company and seek to do business with the County? If so, let me clear up a common misconception about who can bid on potentially lucrative Baltimore County contracts.

When I talk with people about the County’s Minority/Women’s Business Enterprise certification requirements, people often believe that minority-owned and women-owned businesses must be certified in order to bid in County procurements.Baltimore County's procurements are open to ALL businesses, including MBE/WBE firms. Certification is NOT required to bid as prime contractor.

Certification is used in the MBE/WBE subcontracting goal process. In these cases, only MBE/WBE firms certified by Maryland Department of Transportation Office of Minority Business Enterprise (MDOT) or the City of Baltimore’s Minority and Women’s Business Opportunity Office can be counted towards the participation goal.

Certified and noncertified minority-owned and women-owned businesses bidding as the prime contractor with the County must also meet the subcontracting goal requirement set in the solicitation. The MBE/WBE subcontracting participation goal is a contractual obligation of the prime contractor, regardless of the prime’s minority/women’s status.